“Shame on the church of Sweden”: Radical nationalism and the appropriation of Christianity in contemporary Sweden

Abstract

During the last decade, the populist radical nationalist party, the Sweden Democrats (SD), has gone from being a minor party to become Sweden’s third largest party in parliament. In this article, the author shows how the category of Christianity has come to play a pivotal role in the party’s political identification. Drawing on Ernesto Laclau’s analysis of populism, the author argues that Christianity should be understood as a projection surface for fantasies of an ethnically and culturally superior homogenous nation vis-à-vis constructed national others. In a populist logic, Christianity has thus become a way to distinguish the SD from its articulated external (e.g., Muslims, immigrants) and internal (liberalism, feminism) political foes. By appropriating Christianity, the SD articulates itself as the guardian of true Christianity, the future savior of a Church allegedly hijacked by external and internal foes, and in the long run, the Swedish nation.

Finding Religion: Immigration and the Populist (Re)Discovery of Christian Heritage in Western and Northern Europe

“…That the Catholic Church has embraced the welcoming of refugees, for instance, was harshly criticized: Marine Le Pen told the Pope to stay out of France's internal affairs (Huffington Post 2021); the Austrian FPÖ often characterizes the Church as part of the elite establishment (Hadj-Abdou 2016). Similarly, the national churches of Sweden and Norway came under attack by the SD and the FrP, respectively, for their open attitude towards immigration-with one SD member tweeting "Shame on the Church of Sweden" for claiming that racism is an issue in the country (Nilsson 2020). In turn, many Catholic and Protestant clergy members have been outspoken in their criticism of these parties for appropriating religion for exclusionary purposes and for electoral opportunism (Reuters 2016).…”

Religion, secularity, culture? Investigating Christian privilege in Western Europe

“…15.Note that this exclusion is generally not extended to confessional Christians, although several populist politicians have criticized national churches for being too left wing (Nilsson, 2020). …”